9 Favourite J Rockett Audio Design TOUR Series Pedals - Current and Retired
I’ve long been a fan of J Rockett / JRAD Pedals - but don’t necessarily have as many as I should in the reference collection. Historically I’ve always been very impressed with their Archer Klone type pedals in particular, and The Dude and derivative Dumble-style pedals. In fact I see J Rockett as a sort of cousin to Greer Amps pedals - where both brands are particularly adept in putting out universally great sounding dynamic overdrives.
To date I have just 4 JRAD pedals - the 3 in the middle row of the visual or 6-Band EQ Series as I like to call it, and the El Hombre Billy Gibbons style overdrive. The El Hombre doesn’t quite make the cut here as I have other preferred pedals of that type. This visual is largely a reminder for me of what I’ve already got and love, and what I’ve always wanted to add - with the discontinued Animal and Majestic probably at the head of that list.
Pedals tend to have a peak lifetime cycle - and occasionally they fall out of the public conscience and become retired as they’re not selling so many any more - but that doesn’t make them any lesser for me - in fact in terms of pedal acquisition priority - the discontinued ones have a higher priority as there are generally fewer of them about.
These are all so called TOUR Series types - ingenious really as they’re about 20% less tall / smaller than regular compacts - but still come with top-mounted jacks. The TOUR Series format is definitely the one for me - while the older larger and more rounded enclosures typically had extra features and controls - like in the case of the Blue Note - yet the more pedalboard-friendly format normally wins out for me.
Here is my preferred list of candidates:
- Animal Overdrive (Plexi) - retired - $199
- Majestic Overdrive (Jimmy Page 70’s Les Paul + Marshall Tone) - retired - $199
- GTO Overdrive (Guthrie Trapp Overdrive - ODR-1) - $199
- 6-Band IQ Compressor / EQ - retired - $229
- 6-Band EQ Mark Lettieri Signature Melody Overdrive (The Dude + Blue Note + Majestic) - $199
- 6-Band EQ Steve Stevens Signature Rockaway Archer Overdrive (Klone+) - $249
- .45 Calibre Overdrive (JTM45) - $199
- Blue Note Boost / Overdrive (Blues Breaker) - $199
- Monkey Man Overdrive + Reverb (Tweed Drive + Spring Reverb) - retired - $199
J Rockett is obviously named after one of the founders - Jay Rockett - where the company has been a going concern since 2006, and where the other founding partner is Chris Van Tassel. Similar to my recent piece on GuitarSystems - both Chris and Jay are long-time journeymen session players - with a tonne of experience and tonepedia-knowledge!
They also make a pretty cool Signature pedal for Tim Pierce - which is just not quite to my own preferred format - but sounds really cool - would be nice to have that in a more pedalboard friendly vertical BB-size enclosure really!
My journey with J Rockett is still very much ongoing - and I will expect to have picked up a fair few of this list by the next time I do a significant update - definitely the Animal and Majestic - which are starting to become somewhat rare at the moment.
Most of these pedals (bar the 6-Band EQ Series) have a core classic 4 control knob topology - so they are generally really simple to use and easy to dial in. J Rockett also make two really great sounding large format pedals - the MemoryMan inspired Stereo Clockwork Echo, and the more recent Uni-Verb Analog Vibe & Reverb. Both those devices aren’t quite to my preferences - while I’m sorely tempted by the Clockwork Echo in particular - as I feel that’s a pretty great way to own that classic MemoryMan sound.
In any case I always look forward to seeing what J Rockett do next - and I have a feeling that their next pedal is going to be pretty special indeed!
Here follow the individual pedal details :
.45 Calibre Overdrive (JTM45) - $199
Controls - Loud, Gain, Treble, Bass.
A superb take on the slightly softer Marshall JTM45 Amp - this leans more into that elegant slightly softer side of the earlier amps - versus the crisp crunchiness of the later Marshall types featured here. This is for sure the 3rd corner of the J Rockett Marshall Trifecta and one I will be looking to add after the Animal and Majestic. Besides one of the Archer varieties - the .45 would seem to be the next favourite J Rockett pedal among Pro musicians.
Blue Note Boost / Overdrive (Blues Breaker) - $199
Controls - Volume, Gain, Tone, Fat.
I'm kind of torn between this and the slightly larger Pro format edition - which has an additional 'Hot' switch which acts as a sort of boost - delivering a juicier output with more Gain and Volume. The smaller TOUR Series edition still sounds incredible, and you have the decision to make if you prefer the size / form-factor or the more extended feature-set. I'm currently leaning more towards the former - but we shall see!
GTO Overdrive (Guthrie Trapp Overdrive | ODR-1) - $199
Controls - Level, Gain, Accent (Top-end / Bite), Warmth (Lows).
A classy take on the 'Nashville' pedal (ODR-1) without ever mentioning the Spectrum Tone Stack. The EQ of the pedal here is somewhat intriguingly controlled by 'Accent' and 'Warmth' dials - where I'm typically more used to seeing 'Accent' on Dumble style pedals. The Accent and Warmth controls are highly interactive here - and while each kind of targets Highs and Lows separately - they also have sway over the Mids conjointly. I already have the ultimate ODR pedal in the guise of the Nordland ODR-C 30A - while it's a sound I really love, and the GTO has long been one of the best alternatives that I've been most interested in getting my hands on!
6-Band IQ Compressor / EQ - retired - $229
Controls - Volume, Mix : Compression to Dry Blend, 6-Band Pre Comp EQ.
All those 6-Band EQ controls across these similar 3 pedals target the same frequency clusters :
100Hz | 200Hz | 400Hz | 800Hz | 1.5kHz | 3.2kHz
And by turning the Compression Mix down - you can simply use this as a conventional 6-Band Graphic EQ. It has alas been recently retired - while I really rate the entirety of the 6-Band EQ Series. This is such a clever Compressor - where you can really pin-point the frequencies you wish to target to enhance. Actually a really useful and versatile pedal.
6-Band EQ Mark Lettieri Signature Melody Overdrive (The Dude + Blue Note + Majestic) - $199
Controls - Volume, Gain, 6-Band Post Gain EQ.
As per the above description - this is supposed to be a sort of blend of 3 key J Rockett Circuits - with elements of the Dumble Dude, Blues Breaker Blue Note, and Marshally Majestic. For whatever reason this is not quite as wide-ranging in gain as the below Rockaway, and somewhat trickier to dial in - some of the sweet-spots require somewhat micro-movements of the sliders, while for the Rockaway below the dial-in is seemingly much easier. The Melody is still very capable of some really great tones - but weirdly a touch more fiddly in use than its Rockaway sibling. Both of those are pretty essential for me though, while I overall do have a slight preference for the greater range and verve of the Rockaway.
6-Band EQ Steve Stevens Signature Rockaway Archer Overdrive (Klone+) - $249
Controls - Volume, Gain, 6-Band Post Gain EQ.
For me the Rockaway is J Rockett's cleverest take on the Archer / Klone format to date - giving you 6 bands of EQ to really dial the pedal in to your preferences. This pedal is almost instantly appealing - and incredibly easy to dial-in - it just sounds superb every which way, while its above Melody sibling requires a touch more micro-tweaking of the sliders to get to the preferred sweet-spots. The dynamics and verve of this pedal are just superb - and it is further the Signature pedal of one of my favourite Guitarists - who happens to have a most wonderful ear for tone. This is for sure one of the all-time greats!
Animal Overdrive (Plexi) - retired - $199
Controls - Volume, Gain, Treble, Bass.
This now retired pedal is still one of the best takes on the Marshall Plexi - with a beautifully crisp and crunchy output. It already sounds great with all dials at noon - and you can then adjust to taste. This pedal is beautifully calibrated and really does a great take on that most celebrated of Marshall Amp tones. This is currently my number one JRAD acquisition target - and I'm looking to add it to the collection pretty soon.
Majestic Overdrive (Jimmy Page 70's Les Paul + Marshall Tone) - retired - $199
Controls - Volume, Gain, Treble, Bass.
Some people might be torn between the 2 Marshally delights of the Animal and Majestic - while I've long since decided that I need both. This is also recently discontinued - but is a very uniquely voiced circuit design - engineered for delivering Jimmy Page's peak-time Led Zep 'How the West was Won' Live Sound - or namely his 1959 Les Paul into a Marshall Plexi. For many people likely too much of an overlap with the Animal - while for me there's sufficient differences here to warrant owning both!
Monkey Man Overdrive + Reverb (Tweed Drive + Spring Reverb) - retired - $199
Controls - Volume, Speaker Breakup, Spring Reverb
A really smart confection of Tweed Drive with Spring Reverb - very simply controlled with just 3 knobs. I've always loved Tweed Amp style overdrives and the Reverb side of this pedal really enhances and extends that soundstage. It's a very unique and potent take on that format - where there are plenty of other really decent yet more vanilla Tweed Drives out there!
Final Thoughts
For me the core of J Rockett's output is those superior sounding overdrive pedals - which I believe are at their most practical in the TOUR Series form-factor. As mentioned - JRAD also do some great Delay and Modulation pedals - in somewhat larger formats - but really smartly conceived and full-featured.
Their consistency of quality is exceptional, and they've made some actually really innovative pedals along the way - like the 6-Band EQ Series, Clockwork Echo, and Uni-Verb. The vagaries of the pedal universe mean that not all deserving and worthy pedals necessarily get the publicity and following that they deserve. And many are retired long before their effective range has lapsed.
There has never been a wider selection of pedals available - and competition is at its highest ever point - where in the war of attrition some classics momentarily fall out of favour and get left by the wayside. My purpose in doing these types of articles is largely to shine a light on hidden and forgotten gems - to remind people that even though some of these varieties might be currently retired - they still sound great and are most worthy of your attentions.
In the pedal world - things tend to be fairly cyclical and brands are sometimes just ahead or behind the mainstream curve - which denotes how much traction their various pedals get at any particular time. J Rockett is for sure one of The enduring quality brands - with a heritage and pedigree to stand up to all.
These 9 featured pedals are some of my particular favourites - which are your own favourite J Rockett pedals?
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